Meet the team
Martin Frings, Production Director
Martin learnt the ropes at The Vinyl Factory in London and now has close to 10 years’ stamper manufacturing under his belt. He has operated EMI, Toolex and Viryl presses, as well as the world’s first mobile pressing plant; and now at Stamper Discs he has also designed his own plating baths, forming tools and plant machinery, giving him a unique 360 degree view of stamper excellence. You would think all this would give Martin an appreciation for finely crafted music… but when he’s not making stampers he loves nothing more than going to great lengths to track down and listen to punk records of truly questionable quality. With thousands of records and tapes in his collection it might be time to start thinking of reinforcing his floorboards…
Elsie Chadwick, Customer Service Manager
As a big supporter of live music, Elsie’s vinyl collection started to grow as an additional way to support her favourite artists. Her music taste has been influenced by her music-loving family and spans across various genres. Elsie’s interest in music also found its way into her studies, where she researched the emergence of the UK punk movement for her MA dissertation in Modern History.
Lucy Rowbotham, Production
Lucy’s passion for music began at secondary school when she was cast as Audrey in a production of Little Shop of Horrors. Shortly after she started taking guitar lessons and quickly fell in love with vinyl after finding her dad’s collection stashed away in the garage. Most weekends are spent on the sofa, listening to records, with her dog Otis (named after Otis Redding of course).
Hanora Mell, Customer Service and Accounts
Hanora’s love of music began in her childhood home, where she would dance wildly around the living room with her parents and older brother. Her dad first took her to see Motorhead perform live when she was just 10 years old, and she has seen The Pogues three times with her family. Nowadays, Hanora can often be found at gigs supporting friends who are professional musicians. An avid reader, Hanora’s love of words led her to study English Literature at university, which deepened her appreciation of song lyrics. Having always been passionate about music, she is thrilled to have finally found her own place within the industry, and is very excited to develop her vinyl record collection!
Sharon Coke, Customer Service
East London born and bred, discovering Housemartins at 13 led Sharon north to university in Hull where she ended up working at the Adelphi Club and DJing at The Welly as well as playing bass guitar/songwriting in a band she co-founded. A self-confessed vinyl junkie, Sharon has been buying and collecting vinyl for over 35 years. Since moving to Sheffield Sharon has been a radio presenter and is a regular volunteer with Sensoria Festival. Having also worked for a number of years in music retail, Sharon has gone from playing vinyl to selling it and now to the manufacturing of it. Her search for her dream job is over.
Paul Rudeforth, Production
Paul’s love for vinyl began as a teenager digging through his parents’ records for hidden gems. After trying his hand at guitars, keys, and film soundtracking, he accepted his skills lay in the more technical aspects of music. A college course in music technology inspired moves into djing and remixing, promoting and booking for venues and festivals across Sheffield and beyond. While he is also a qualified snowboard instructor, he is sure his future now lies in the vinyl industry.
Andrew Smith, Production
Andrew joined us in 2021, having been DJing in Sheffield for around 20 years, as well as promoting live shows and tour managing the odd band. He once nearly opened a record shop, before realising he would probably just try and keep all the records to himself. He’s still an active DJ, but seldom listens to albums as he prefers to play 7″ vinyl. A varied taste in music from Dub, Soul, Rhythm & Blues, to Punk, Surf, Thrash Metal and Hip Hop.
Dale Miller, Production Lead
Dale works in both our production and customer service areas. With a degree in Music Technology, he’s previously worked as a timber barn erector and a freelance audio engineer. He started playing guitar as a young teenager, and has since enjoyed producing and releasing his own music under the artist name ‘Matador Cheeks’. He’s most at home in a recording studio with friends, snacks and time to kill.
Peter Frings, Director
Peter ran a successful marketing services business for many years… but then succumbed to the temptation of helping Martin set up a new galvanics business. Peter’s vinyl collection, which included many gems from the 70s and 80s, was ‘inherited’ by Martin many years ago, who promptly sold it off to fund a trip somewhere.
